The present invention relates to a storage controller and a storage system.
FC protocol (Fibre Channel protocol) is known as an example of data transfer protocols favorable for a SAN (Storage Area Network). FC protocol is a data transfer protocol that has achieved high-speed transmission, reduced delay, long-distance transmission, and routing by incorporating the advantages of conventional SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) data transmission techniques and Ethernet techniques. FC protocol is divided into four layers from a physical media layer to an upper layer protocol. These respective layers are referred to as FC-0, FC-1, FC-2, and FC-4. FC-0 defines the physical media specifications of the fibre channel; FC-1 defines the encode/decode specifications of the fibre channel; FC-2 defines the frame configuration and flow control specifications of the fibre channel; and FC-4 defines the specifications for mapping a protocol, such as SCSI, IP(Internet Protocol), ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode), ESCON (Enterprise System Connection®) in the fibre channel.
Meanwhile, as a storage device for achieving high-speed data transmission and price-reduction, a SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) disk drive is known. In a storage system for conducting data transmission with a host system based on FC protocol and controlling data input/output to or from a SATA disk drive, an FC/SATA converter is required. US2004/0139260A1 discloses a storage system including an FC/SATA converter.